Sen. John Hickenlooper is inviting the newest Secretary of the Interior nominee to tour Thompson Divide — a 224,713-acre swath of mostly public land between Pitkin, Garfield, and Gunnison counties that for years has been a focal point for prospective gas drilling.
Doug Burgum, serving as North Dakota governor from 2016-2024, is incoming President Donald Trump’s pick for Interior Secretary. He was questioned on Thursday morning by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources about his priorities.
During the meeting, Sen. Hickenlooper made a point of telling Burgum about the Thompson Divide, saying that in Colorado “we have some places where local governments, the local community, the ranchers … joined arms side by side to protect lands.”